“Tús Nua -New Beginnings” June 30, 2012

Seems there has been a split in Sinn Fein in Kildare with Sinn Feins 2011 Kildare South candidate Jason Turner leaving the party to found “Tús Nua -New Beginnings”.Turner claims “eight of his local Cumman left” with him.
Theres a small bit about it here on the Leinster Leader site.

Not sure if it is an ideological split or not, although in another interview in the Kildare Nationalist Turner states …

“When I was in Sinn Fein a lot of the work we were doing was being sent down from head office in Dublin.”

The article also notes that Turner “had wanted to take part in demonstartions and other activities.” Interestingly enough when asked about the new groups political aims it emerges that they

“support those opposed to the household charge”

You’d wonder was a command sent from on high to not get involved in the campaign Against The Household and Water Charges?… and was it that which prompted the split?

Irishelectionliterature wonders: “You’d wonder was a command sent from on high to not get involved in the campaign Against The Household and Water Charges?” And his wonderment leads him to conclude that there is a split in Sinn Fein. Then Mick observes that it was after a household tax demo that Jason and Sinn Fein fell out and so the two must be related – although I must admit that it was only after the fall of Gadaffy that my girlfriend moved in with me. Very suspicious.
Perhaps someone in Sinn Fein or Jason himself might explain the circumstances. His rhetoric to date hasn’t made any such claim.

“I am not in favour of this meeting by a long head – I think it is wrong, it is premature and a step too far.

“I feel that I have a responsibility to remind people that this is the very person that decorated the paratroopers that killed innocent victims on Bloody Sunday.

“She is also responsible as Commander in Chief of the armed forces for the continued occupation of the six counties. Martin McGuinness should be asking the British Government and the Queen what is the real position in relation to the Six Counties. By meeting with the Queen he is acknowledging her as Head of State in Northern Ireland and giving legitimacy to the situation.”

“Republican campaigners called for an urgent review of royal finances and an “end to the ‘something-for-nothing’ culture in the royal household”.

Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said “Year on year, Charles continues to spend more public money on travel, much of which is for personal trips. When the country is facing sweeping cuts to public spending, Charles Windsor wilfully helps himself to whatever travel funds he wants or feel he needs.”

This episode demonstrates that today’s Sinn Féin is capable of more turns to the right – nothing can be ruled out – the next major step will be entering a coalition government with Fine Gael – why not? : Kenny’s Party is on the same right-wing wavelength as Mr Robinson’s Democratic Unionist Party.

In the shorter term Sinn Féin anticipates electoral gains from its nationalist rivals, the SDLP, which holds two Westminster seats – Foyle and South Down – because Unionists “lend” their votes to Mark Durkan and Margaret Ritchie because of Sinn Féin’s republican past – and we move closer to a two-party sectarian state in Northern Ireland.

It is a change from the one-party sectarian Orange State that ruled the roost until the Civil Rights Mass Movement broke the sectarian spell in 1968 – but also smells like “back to the past” – as one cynical old joke said : “Remember 1690 – the last time the workers in Belfast got a rise”.

“Conor Murphy, the recent Sinn Fein Minister for the Department for Regional Development (DRD), was found by a Fair Employment Tribunal to have engaged in unlawful religious discrimination in appointing a Catholic to Chairman of Northern Ireland Water in a case taken by one of the Protestant applicants….

Even in the dark days of Unionist discrimination during the previous Stormont regime pre-1972 I can recall no case of a Minister and senior civil servant being implicated through exposure of such high profile discrimination. It was actions like these that led to the civil rights movement and the fall of the old Stormont. Yet there have been no words of criticism from the rest of Sinn Fein and in fact two Sinn Fein Ministerial colleagues of Murphy’s were consulted by him in making the appointment. Murphy has continued to deny his guilt although it is impossible to believe that the evidence and judgement of the Tribunal would not be accepted by Sinn Fein if it involved Unionist discrimination against Catholics.”

As said above – Northern Ireland is changing from a one party sectarian state to a two-party sectarian state – the head-of-state shakes hands with the elected chiefs, and carries on milking the the public’s money while austerity is dished out to the masses.

Whatever about South Down, the SDLP holds Folyle because it is still the more popular nationalist party in Derry. Foyle has a very small Unionist electorate, (most Protestant voters are part of the East Londerry electoral area) and the DUP and OUP got about 6,000 votes in 2010. Eamonn McCann got a couple of thousand. There is little evidence that the SDLP got, or needed, several thousand Unionist votes-they simply arn’t there to get.

Check the recent form, and you are entitled to believe the story may well be true :

The same “will it happen” / “Won’t it happen” game played out over the McGuiiness/Elizabeth II handshake :

“It was all depressingly familiar, a ploy we had seen Sinn Fein execute so many times during the peace process but each time greeted by the media with astonishment and surprise, as if it had never happened before. The classic example of the ploy in motion was SF’s efforts throughout the many years of the peace process to deny that IRA decommissioning was on the cards when for all sorts of reasons, not least self-interest, it was clear that it was.

That particular journey was accomplished in a number of steps which each shared similar levels of dishonesty and manipulation. Stories would be put out, and happily circulated by our credulous media, that this or that move towards disarming the IRA would/could never happen, was the invention of a malicious one or two journalists (mostly myself) and the party’s supporters should be assured that whatever it was, it was just not on the agenda. Then having reassured the base, the Provo leadership would make the move they said would never happen, their supporters would be rendered impotent by their own dismay and confusion while the odd one or two angry enough to voice their frustration could be handily identified as potential troublemakers and isolated in preparation for future needs.”

Seriusoly though there was a coimmentary on Politics.ie about how some elements in Clare split from SF. There was one commentator who was one of those who got the boot and he was complaining abt SF HQ trying to drive strategy while the locals knew best and had their own strategy which would yield results.

Only problem with this is that story is SF in Clare were stalling hard with a tiny vote but this in a county where McG got 10% in the pres. elections.

Obviously local sometimes doesnt know best. Just like HQ wont know best. I think the tus nua made a bad call and will disappear into ineffectual obscurity.

Most of the Bob Doyle SF cumann in Newbridge and Séan Downey the 2009 elections candidate left the party not long after the local elections of 2009.The people left because they wanted to work on local issues and found SF not left wing enough.

i believe turner was told to leave or he would be kicked out. he does not appear to have a good name in the area and they wanted to clean the party up.
Suppose this is what they need to do to ever get into power, if they ever do.. all straightforward as far as i am aware, no idealogical / household tax reason or anything of the such.